Merchandise display



H..G LoRENzEN' l MERCHANDISE DISPLAY Filed July 1s, 1931 l fZZ/@ZZZ-OZ l /ezfaz afnzea w La, M, uw L July 4, 1933.

Patented July 4, 1933 narra stares Parana ci-rica HEINZ G. IQORENZEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB- TC KITCHEN ART FOODS, INC., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORFQRATION OF DELAEVARE MERCHANDISE DISPLAY Application led July 13,

This invention relates to merchandise display, and among other objects aims to provide a container 'or package which will. effectively display the nature and variety of its contents whether the package be full or nearly empty. n

The nature of the invention may be readily understood by reference to one illustrative construction embodying the invention and shown in the kaccompanying drawing.

F i'g. 1 is a perspective view of the container opened and arranged to display-its contents.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the opened package.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a removable stuffer or filler whichmay be yemployed to render the container serviceable for shipping purposes. v

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective of a support which holds the several articles in the container in position for the most effective display.

The individual articles comprising the contents of the container are shown in rectangular package form and possessing some though not great thickness, the maximum thickness of the articles 10 being approximately one-quarter of aninch. Such packages are a convenient forni for manyl purposes such as for holding various articles of food7 seeds or any commodityr which may be' similarly packaged Vfor sale to the retail trade. In the present insta-nce the articles consist of rectangular envelopes containing in concentrated and powdered form the ingredients for making fruit drinks of various flavors. The front faces 11 of the several packages are advantageously decorated or otherwise d'esigned to attract attention so as'not only to make the package pleasing in appearance but to present a sales appeal. 1n this connection the envelope may advantageously be covered with a transparent paper such as cellophane which not only makes the package more attractive but tends to keep the contents dry. As here shown the individual packages bear near their top edges, legends 12 which indicate the character or variety of the contents assuming that the contents are not identical as in the present case Where the several packages i931. sei-iai No. 550,419.

contain Vingredients for making drinks of dif- Y n lerent navors. The present container displays articles for making drinks of siX different flavors. A

The individual packages 10 are carried in the surrounding carton 13 (which may advantageously be made of cardboard) in an inclined position so as to lie perpendicularly or approximately perpendicularly to the line of vision of the customer, thereby to make the most advantageous presentation of the face of the individual packages. The latter are held in such inclined position by a support 14 whose inclined face 15 is at the angle (slightly less than in the present case) most advantageous for display purposes. The support 1-1 in this case is made from a. single sheet of cardboard folded into the shape shown in` Fig. 4. The eXtreme or rear margin 16 of the cardboard sheet is doubled inwardly as shown and its ends 17 (which are severed from the sheet along their lower edges) are folded at right angles thereto and project through slots 18 in the inclined face 15 to provide spacing fins for spacing the several columns of packages 10. The support in this case is shown with two spaced fins which in.

conjunction with the sides ofthe carton provide means for spacing and locating three columns of packages 10 (see Fig. 1).

The carton is provided with projections for holding the individual .packages at the proper inclination and for preventing them from sliding or falling down into the carton particularly when. the carton is partially empty. Such projections are here provided in the form of a sheet 19 lying on the bottom of the carton and presenting a series of spaced ribs 20 which are engaged by the lower edges of the individual packages to prevent the same from sliding down. The spacing between the ribs 20 should have some reference to the thickness yof the package or the ribs shoidd be suliicientlv numerous so as to provide a rib where needed. The ribs may advantageously be provided in the present case) vby a 'piece of ordinary corrugated cardboard.

Thus even though practically all the packages in a given column be removed, nevertheless the remaining packages are held 1n the 'soi Ibo

advantageous, inclined position and will not slide down in the carton. The inclination of the packages with reference to their thickness is such as to expose a suiiicient width 21 of 5 the upper margin of each package so that the legend at the top of each package (if a legend be necessary to identify the character of the contents) will be exposed to view. This permits the purchaser not only readily to select the desired package but enables the merchant to determine easily how many of each variety of packages remain.

The lid 22 of the carton is here shown as folded on itself as at 23 and the free edge 24 thereof tucked down between the carton and the rear face of the supporting member 14. This holds the folded lid in an upright or slightly backwardly inclined position. The face 25 of the top may advantageously present a display designed to attract attention and advertise the articles on sale. Also a portion of the top may be severed from the balance along any desired decorative outline 27 so that when the top is folded along the line x23, the severed portion 2,7 will project upwardly so as to increase the display face of the top.

To close the carton for purposes of shipping, the free edge 24 is withdrawn and the top unfolded thus bringing the severed portion 27 into the plane of the balance of the top. Before closing the carton a stuifer or filler 28 made of cardboard and having a cross-sectional shape to fill the place 29 between foremost articles 10 and the front of the carton and to lie approximately along the upper edge 3() of the side of the carton, is inserted to hold the articles against movement in shipping. Vhen the filler Q8 is in- 195' serted the top may be closed down and the free edge or envelope 24 of the top may be inserted at 31 between the front of the cai'- ton and the front face of the filler. The side fiaps 32 of the top may be folded down and 153 tucked inside the sides 33 of the carton. The carton thus serves not only effectively to` display its contents but also as an efficient shipping package.

Obviously the invent-ion is not limited to mi the details of the illustrative construction since these may be variously modified. Moreover it is not indispensable that all features of the invention be used conj ointly since various features majT advantageously be einployed in different combinations and subcombinations.

Having described the invention, the following claims are made:

' 1. As an article of manufacture, the coin- @Q'bination comprising a display container, a plurality of thin packages having different contents arranged one in front of the other in said container and each carrying a legend across its top margin indicating the character of the contents, a support for holding said packages at an angle to the bottom of the,

container, a series of small projections in said container for engaging each of said packages to prevent the same from sliding down into said container, said projections being spaced less than the thickness of the packages and being substantially more numerous than the layers of packages to permit adj ustincnt in the an gle of repose of the packages to insure proper exposure of the legends at the tops of tlie packages.

2, As an article of manufacture, the conibination comprising a display carton, a plurality of columns of relatively fiat packages therein, the packages in each column being arranged one in front of the other, an inclined support for holding said packages at an angle to the horizontal so as to display their front faces most favorably to the vision of an observer, said support having forwardly projecting dividers extending between t-he columns to maintain the arrangement of the packages in the column, and a series of projections in said carton engaging the several packages to hold them independently against the tendency to slide down in the carton.

3. As an article of manufacture, the coinbination comprising a display carton, a plurality of thin packages in said carton arranged one in front of the other and each extending to the bottom of the carton, a support in said carton for holding said packages inclined to the bottom of the carton, a removable filler shaped to fill the space between the foremost packages and the front of the carton, the upper edges of the packages extending flush. with the top of the carton, and a hinged lid for said carton engaging the upper edges of all the packages and holding down said filler to prevent moveinent of the packages in the carton during shipment.

4. As an article of manufacture, the combination comprising a display container, a plurality of thin packages having different contents arranged one in front of the other and of a length to extend to the bottom of the container, a support for holding said packages at an angle to the bottom of the container, and a corrugated sheet in the bottom of said container presenting ribs parallel to the lower edges of said packages and engaging the same to hold said packages independently from slipping down into said container.

In witness of the foregoing I aiiix my signature.

HEINZ Gr. LORENZEN. 

